Barbara Harper | The Guardianhttps://www.theguardian.com/profile/barbara-harper
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Open door: The corrections column co-editor on… the ‘zombie’ stories that refuse to die | Barbara Harperhttps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/aug/03/corrections-column-co-editor-zombie-stories-refuse-die
How a tweet from Russell Brand or a Facebook post from Star Trek’s George Takei can propel an old story back to the top of our most-read list<p>An article with an arresting headline appeared in the most-viewed box on our website at the end of last week: “<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/nov/24/israel">Israeli officer: I was right to shoot 13-year-old girl</a>.” But the article was not a report about the current situation in Gaza: it was nearly 10 years old, having been published in November 2004.</p><p>“How has this article appeared in the current most-read list?” a reader asked. “Did the Guardian make this article available again? Is it appropriate to have this article in such a list when most people will assume that it’s about the current conflict.”</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/aug/03/corrections-column-co-editor-zombie-stories-refuse-die">Continue reading...</a>The GuardianNational newspapersNewspapers & magazinesNewspapersMediaTwitterSocial mediaBloggingTechnologyFacebookRussell BrandStar TrekStar TrekRedditSun, 03 Aug 2014 18:00:03 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/aug/03/corrections-column-co-editor-zombie-stories-refuse-diePhotograph: Herbert Neubauer/EPA'A 2013 article by Russell Brand, headlined My life without drugs, was the most read story on our site for two days more than a year later.' Photograph: Herbert Neubauer/EPAPhotograph: Herbert Neubauer/EPA'A 2013 article by Russell Brand, headlined My life without drugs, was the most read story on our site for two days more than a year later.' Photograph: Herbert Neubauer/EPABarbara Harper2014-08-03T18:00:03ZThe corrections column co-editor on… MH370 and a picture of griefhttps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/apr/06/flight-mh370-picture-of-grief
The decision to illustrate an article about the loss of Malaysian airliner MH370 with a picture of a grief-stricken relative elicited a strong response from our readers<p>The disappearance of Flight MH370 and the mystery of what happened to it after it diverted from its flight path en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on 8 March was top of our news agenda for two weeks.</p><p>The story generated enormous interest from readers, with <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/malaysia-airlines-flight-mh370" title="">stories related to MH370</a> dominating the daily list of most viewed articles on our website. Our coverage included a live blog that ran round the clock, rotating between our London, US and Australian offices, following the twists and turns of the search for the aircraft, as the hopes of the relatives of the 239 people on board were raised and dashed.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/apr/06/flight-mh370-picture-of-grief">Continue reading...</a>Malaysia Airlines flight MH370Newspapers & magazinesMalaysiaThe GuardianNational newspapersNewspapersMediaSun, 06 Apr 2014 17:59:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/apr/06/flight-mh370-picture-of-griefPhotograph: Rolex Dela Pena/EPACandles for the passengers of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 at a hotel in Beijing, China. Photograph: Rolex Dela Pena/EPAPhotograph: Rolex Dela Pena/EPACandles for the passengers of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 at a hotel in Beijing, China. Photograph: Rolex Dela Pena/EPABarbara Harper2014-04-06T17:59:00ZThe corrections column co-editor on… oaths and lack of allegiance to the Guardian style guidehttps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/nov/17/swearwords-style-guide
Casual use of swearwords detracts from their impact when we do have good reason to use them<p>Does the Guardian use too many swearwords? "It has to be said that for many of us aggressive bad language still grates," one reader wrote recently, noting that this newspaper easily outstrips all others in the casual deployment of swearwords.</p><p>Our coverage of the court martial of a marine sergeant who shot a wounded Afghan prisoner drew complaints last week because <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2013/nov/08/military-royal-navy" title="">we spelled out what the soldier said </a>after he had fired into the man's chest: "There you are. Shuffle off this mortal coil, you cunt." The expletive appeared on the front page of the paper and was repeated in each of the two stories published on an inside page.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/nov/17/swearwords-style-guide">Continue reading...</a>The GuardianNational newspapersNewspapers & magazinesNewspapersMediaSun, 17 Nov 2013 19:29:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/nov/17/swearwords-style-guidePhotograph: Carl Court/Getty ImagesCasual use of swearwords lessens their impact when they do need to be reported, as in the trial of footballer John Terry in 2012. Photograph: Carl Court/Getty ImagesPhotograph: Carl Court/Getty ImagesCasual use of swearwords lessens their impact when they do need to be reported, as in the trial of footballer John Terry in 2012. Photograph: Carl Court/Getty ImagesBarbara Harper2013-11-17T19:29:00ZOpen door: The corrections column co-editor on ... the busy world of the live bloggershttps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/jun/16/open-door-busy-live-blogging
Rolling live blogs offer the reader a different experience of news: one that is reactive and taking place in real time<p>Live blogs are popular with readers of our website, but very few complaints about them reach the readers' editor's office.</p><p>That is partly because readers are able to interact directly with the person <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/news/blog" title="">writing the live blog</a> as it runs over several hours, pointing out what they see as inaccuracies, but also because readers know that a live blog is never a finished, polished product and expect a few rough edges.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/jun/16/open-door-busy-live-blogging">Continue reading...</a>The GuardianNational newspapersNewspapers & magazinesNewspapersMediaSun, 16 Jun 2013 18:00:18 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/jun/16/open-door-busy-live-bloggingBarbara Harper2013-06-16T18:00:18ZThe corrections column co-editor on… choosing the subjects of obituarieshttps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/may/12/corrections-coeditor-choosing-subjects-obituaries
The aim is to find subjects who have been original, exceptionally effective and interesting, says the Guardian's obituaries editor<p>"Every man's life ends the same way, and it is only the details of how he lived and how he died that distinguish one man from another." So said Ernest Hemingway. It is the job of an obituarist to weave those details of how someone lived into an interesting account, combining their achievements with a flavour of their character and personality, and setting it in the context of the times in which they lived.</p><p>The job is not always easy. Readers are quick to tell us if they think an obituary is too judgmental or too reverential, or doesn't give a full picture of a person's life. They also have strong views about who should be included on the obituaries pages and who should not. What place do minor Hollywood actors and marginal musicians have there, one asked. "What's the point of an obituary page unless to remind us of&nbsp;the greatness we are all potentially capable of but few of us achieve?"</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/may/12/corrections-coeditor-choosing-subjects-obituaries">Continue reading...</a>The GuardianNational newspapersNewspapers & magazinesNewspapersMediaSun, 12 May 2013 20:00:04 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/may/12/corrections-coeditor-choosing-subjects-obituariesBarbara Harper2013-05-12T20:00:04ZThe corrections column co-editor on... women's sport in the Guardianhttps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/mar/10/womens-sport-guardian-coverage
The sports desk used to&nbsp;run a weekly women's football report but dropped it because of lack of interest<p>Women on the sports pages, or rather the lack of them, is a regular cause for complaint by readers. "It would seem that no women across the UK managed to achieve anything sportswise this weekend, apart from publicise a new clothing line," one reader wrote recently.</p><p>Another had added up the lineage in the sports section of a Saturday edition of the paper: "Of the 1,722 square centimetres of newsprint, 93.5% was male sport, 4% was advertising and only&nbsp;2.5% was female sport (a solitary article on boxing)."</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/mar/10/womens-sport-guardian-coverage">Continue reading...</a>The GuardianNational newspapersNewspapers & magazinesNewspapersMediaSportWomenLife and styleFeminismSun, 10 Mar 2013 19:30:04 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/mar/10/womens-sport-guardian-coveragePhotograph: Mike Hewitt/Getty ImagesThe level of interest in most women's sport is low, says the Guardian sports editor, Ian Prior, and 'it's expensive to cover'. Above, England's Alice Richardson breaks through the Australian defence in their 2010 Women's Rugby World Cup semi-final. Photograph: Mike Hewitt/Getty ImagesPhotograph: Mike Hewitt/Getty ImagesThe level of interest in most women's sport is low, says the Guardian sports editor, Ian Prior, and 'it's expensive to cover'. Above, England's Alice Richardson breaks through the Australian defence in their 2010 Women's Rugby World Cup semi-final. Photograph: Mike Hewitt/Getty ImagesBarbara Harper2013-03-10T19:30:04ZOpen door: The corrections column co-editor on... the challenge of writing picture captionshttps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/aug/05/open-door
Captions are small items on a newspaper or web page, but jumble them and they can generate a big fuss<p>At the start of my career in newspapers, a chief subeditor told me a story, possibly apocryphal, to illustrate the dangers of careless picture caption writing.</p><p>A prize-winning cow was photographed at an agricultural show flanked by its owner and another woman. The caption writer failed to take on board the information that the second woman would be cropped out when the photograph was published. It duly appeared showing only one woman and bearing the caption: "Mrs Brown (left) and her prize cow."</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/aug/05/open-door">Continue reading...</a>PhotographyThe GuardianNational newspapersNewspapers & magazinesNewspapersMediaSun, 05 Aug 2012 20:10:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/aug/05/open-doorBarbara Harper2012-08-05T20:10:00ZThe corrections column co-editor on… the changing role of the subeditorhttps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/may/27/changing-role-of-the-subeditor
When the Guardian was print-only, subs had three or four deadlines a day. Now every minute of the day is a deadline<p>"Don't you employ subeditors any more?" That question, or a variation on it, drops into the readers' editor's inbox on a regular basis along with a request to fix an obvious spelling mistake or factual error.</p><p>We do have subeditors, of course, who deal at speed with a large volume of copy and are now doing much more than the traditional downtable sub's role of copy editing for sense, grammar and accuracy, cutting and headline writing.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/may/27/changing-role-of-the-subeditor">Continue reading...</a>The GuardianNational newspapersNewspapers & magazinesNewspapersMediaSun, 27 May 2012 19:27:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/may/27/changing-role-of-the-subeditorBarbara Harper2012-05-27T19:27:00Z